show/hide this revision's text 3 attach Latex pdf

Let

EDIT, Thursday. Maybe someone has mentioned this idea. I have, often enough, typeset the letter I have in mind in Latex letter document style. Then I send the email with my best ordinary text version of that, but point out that I have also attached a more readable pdf. I sent you a sample a few minutes ago. $$ $$ ORIGINAL:Let me expand on a single point of Andrew Stacey, about not flooding people with questions. I have been on both sides of that one. Other people have bombarded me with questions, and this has led to some joint papers. In the other direction, I asked too many things of one guy, and eventually got a very polite but clear message to leave him alone. So, especially as an undergraduate, you need to bear in mind the possibility that the reply may not be enough ("Oh, that is covered by my 1000 page article somewhere") but a second email might nevertheless not be welcome. Or a fourth email might not be welcome after three went quite well. With any luck, it will be possible to decipher the professor's emotional response to your correspondence. That caution being said, I can't say anyone has reacted badly to a first message from me, just sometimes there has been no answer. Anyway, you can always write to me.
show/hide this revision's text 2 added 210 characters in body

Let me expand on a single point of Andrew Stacey, about not flooding people with questions. I have been on both sides of that one. Other people have bombarded me with questions, and this has led to some joint papers. In the other direction, I asked too many things of one guy, and eventually got a very polite but clear message to leave him alone. So, especially as an undergraduate, you need to bear in mind the possibility that the reply may not be enough ("Oh, that is covered by my 1000 page article somewhere") but a second email might nevertheless not be welcome. Or a fourth email might not be welcome after three went quite well. With any luck, it will be possible to decipher the professor's emotional response to your correspondence. That caution being said, I can't say anyone has reacted badly to a first message from me, just sometimes there has been no answer. Anyway, you can always write to me.
show/hide this revision's text 1 [made Community Wiki]

Let me expand on a single point of Andrew Stacey, about not flooding people with questions. I have been on both sides of that one. Other people have bombarded me with questions, and this has led to some joint papers. In the other direction, I asked too many things of one guy, and eventually got a very polite but clear message to leave him alone. So, especially as an undergraduate, you need to bear in mind the possibility that the reply may not be enough ("Oh, that is covered by my 1000 page article somewhere") but a second email might nevertheless not be welcome. That caution being said, I can't say anyone has reacted badly to a first message from me, just sometimes there has been no answer.